Alpha and Omega
by Rjalker
Summary: There will come a time when everything will end, and that end has already begun.


Gaius had an entire ten minutes to himself in his lab before the woman appeared again.

He'd just picked up a test tube when her voice suddenly sounded from behind him, shattering his concentration and almost making him drop the fragile glass in his surprise.

But he'd already broken more than he could afford, and his hand tightened almost automatically around the _very expensive_ , very _rare_ item, saving it from joining the dozen or so others that had met their fate against the hard floor.

But she was muttering to herself, and Gaius couldn't make out what she said. After a few moments of slow, careful breathing to bring his heart rate back down, he set the test tube down carefully on his desk, and turned his chair around to face her.

She was no longer wearing her red dress, that was the first thing he noticed. Now she was wearing a black one with a blood red sash thrown across her shoulder, and a multitude of green and silver bracelets rattled on her slender wrists with every step she took.

And she took a lot of steps. She was pacing back and forth near the counter that held the computer and other processing equipment, her head bowed, one hand hovering in front of her mouth, fingers curled as though to catch the words she was whispering.

" _No, she's...but how can that be? Unless…_ " She didn't even seem to notice him, and spoke as though she wasn't even aware she was speaking out loud.

Gaius just watched her for a few moments, and blinked in confusion when he suddenly realized that she wasn't making noise when she walked. It took him a few seconds to realize why-she was no longer wearing heels, instead, she was barefoot.

But no, not entirely. Black ribbons were tied around her feet, like sandals without the padding.

His brow furrowed, Gaius just sat there for a few moments while she paced, trying to make sense of her mutterings.

She was definitely talking about the woman from the cafeteria, but she seemed to be just as confused as he was.

Finally, watching her face grow pinched and her arms sensed, he spoke quietly. "So, have you remembered what your name is yet?"

He thought it wise not to bring up the possibility that she might not actually exist again.

She jolted, as though she'd honestly forgotten he was there, and spun to face him, her hand falling from her mouth and leaping to her chest, as though to calm a racing heart.

"Oh-Gaius!" She exclaimed, sounding breathless. "You-when did you get there?"

His eyebrows shot to his forehead. "I've _been_ here." He said slowly, staring at her with more intensity, now slightly worried, though in a way he couldn't really put into words. "This is my office, remember? And the last time I checked it was _you_ who followed me around, not the other way."

She smiled, and he was certain that she'd ignored him entirely. "Gaius, that woman, she-it's amazing!"

She hurried over to him, bracelets jingling and footsteps silent, almost dancing up and down like an overexcited child. _What in the world had gotten into her?_

She grabbed his hands, pulling him to his feet without effort and dragging him into a spin, "And I know my name! I know what I am now!" She twirled him around and around, turning the world to a blur of grey and red and black to his eyes.

She continued speaking excitedly, even as his lab disappeared around him, and was replaced instead by a starlit night, the sand cold against his suddenly bare feet, the smells and sounds of Greystone Manor's beach yard suddenly filling his senses.

"Alpha and Omega, don't you see it, Gaius? Everything has happened before, and everything will happen again. It's a circle, and endless circle. But it's been broken, don't you see? Because if she is the end-" She released his hands suddenly, and somehow he managed to stay standing even as she twirled away, laughing excitedly as she tilted her head up to stare at the expanse of stars.

She lifted her arms above her head, and grinned up at the distant lights as though greeting an old friend. "If she is the end, that means _I_ am the beginning. Alpha and Omega, Va and Ra. She wasn't meant to exist, but neither was I!" She dropped her arms, and spun to face him, her smile wide and filled with joy. "Don't you see? I was the first Cylon to fall in love with a human, I was the first fragment to form. But that woman? She is the _end_. And if she is the end, then I _want_ to be the beginning!"

He was at her side as though his legs didn't need to work for his body to move, and grabbed one of her hands, fear suddenly and inexplicably filling him, sending his hearts pounding in his throat. "The end?" He demanded, "The end of what?"

But he already knew, deep down in his soul.

She didn't need to say it out loud, so she said instead, "Alpha and Omega. Va and Ra. The beginning and the end." She turned her gaze away from him, and up toward the stars.

"My name, Gaius, is Artemis."


End file.
